Reminders
A Sermon for the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, October 4, 2020
The Rev. Robin Teasley
Then God spoke all these words:
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work.
Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.”
Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
For weeks now we have heard some of the stories of God at work in the lives of Moses, Pharaoh, and the Israelites. They are epic Old Testament accounts of the way God delivered the Israelites from bondage and slave labor under Pharaoh, through the divided Red Sea. God provided manna, quail, and water to them as they wandered through the wilderness toward the land God had promised to their ancestor Abraham. We have also heard how the Israelites often lost sight of God’s provision and care, which God literally rained down from heaven upon them! But they forgot. They needed some reminders. They needed guidance for living in community together now that they had escaped their slavery in Egypt and were heading toward the promised land.
Before God gave them the Ten Commandments, God had already spoken to Moses in chapter 19 saying, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples.” After his mountaintop meeting with God, Moses told the people that God desired to be in covenant with them. It took them three days to prepare for this great covenant ceremony.
On that third day, the people did not see God, but they sure knew God was there. Thunder and lightning filled the sky, a thick cloud hovered over the mountain, and the blast from God’s trumpet was so loud it made everyone tremble. As Moses spoke with God, even the mountain trembled, and God answered in the thunder. Finally, Moses went up the mountain, disappearing in the thick cloud. And when he came down, Moses told the people what God said, and this is when the people hear the Ten Commandments from God.
We don’t usually hear this exciting lead up to the commandments. In fact, we have heard the commandments so many times, that we might find them boring, or no longer applicable in today’s world, or at least it appears as if they are no longer being applied.
Learning them in Sunday school over the years, some of us might have thought, “I’m a good person and I would never break any of these commandments.” Others of us might still be trembling in fear lest we break one of these commandments, seeing God as an angry, scary man in the sky, who is waiting to smite us. Still, others of us may have broken more than one of these commandments and are wondering if God could possibly love us. The way we understand the Ten Commandments is a reflection of our relationship with God, and a great influence on our relationships with one another.
The people of Israel came to understand that the commandments were given in love, given to provide a template for abundant life. The commandments formed them into a community that was an alternative to the distorted life in the world around them, so that they might become a community that lived in faithfulness to God’s purposes.
These guiding words are also for us, connecting us to the promise and assurance that we are beloved children of God. The commandments are a gift, a joy, and a delight. We hear God’s law described in this way all throughout the Psalms. The commandments give us a firm foundation as well as healthy boundaries for our lives. They are succinct yet deep with implied meaning, and understanding them can be a lifelong endeavor.
God knows there are ways of life that work and ways of life that do not work. If we see the commandments as a template for a way of life that works, then we might hear them more like this. We might come to understand that no one loves us more than God; that nothing else in this world can do for us what God can do; that the name of God holds great power. We might discover that sabbath time helps us remember that we are much more than what we do; and that honoring parents, honoring our elders, is to honor their experience and wisdom, and also their best efforts, however imperfect.
We might acknowledge that murder ends life, but also that our words and actions can destroy the hopes of others; that in committing adultery we will set in motion consequences that will affect and hurt those we love. We might realize that when we steal it harms others and harms our soul, but also that if we saw to the care of our neighbors there would be no need for anyone to steal. We might admit that telling a lie will not work forever and that choosing not to speak truth can be just as destructive as a lie; and that coveting what others have is the root cause of so much of our sin, so much of our inability to keep the other nine commandments. That’s a lot to ponder.
Not unlike the people of Israel who spent time preparing for God to lead them forward, we have been preparing for God to lead Immanuel forward. We have explored ways God has guided Immanuel in the past; we acknowledged our own forgetfulness of God’s providence, we have needed our own reminders of God’s grace, forgiveness, and love.
For about sixteen months we have been in ministry together in this interim time between rectors at Immanuel. Together we have looked at the foundations and boundaries of our community life, exploring the ways that work well and noting what might no longer be serving us well. You have been flexible and kind as you discovered that listening to one another and speaking the truth in love can be healing and reconciling for the parish. You have been faithful to the process, willing to step over the threshold and into this work. The result of our work is that we are more assured than ever of God’s love, and we trust that God’s power is greater than anything that we think we might need to avoid, or might need to control.
Just as the people of Israel saw the commandments as a gift and template for abundant life, my prayer is that Immanuel will see our interim time together in this same way.
Like God’s people who have gone before us, we will continue on the journey toward God’s promises. You are about to begin a new part of your journey, moving forward under new leadership into all that God has promised you. I am also heading off on a new journey, trusting in God’s plans. I’m certain every one of us will need reminders along the way that God is with us. When you are in need of a reminder, just remember who you are. Immanuel – which means God with us.
I want to leave you with a tangible reminder that God is with you. This painting by Bishop Susan Goff, is originally entitled The Holy Family. But I think it can as easily be entitled Immanuel. May it be your reminder whenever you need one. (unveiling of art)
Today is a day of joy, thanksgiving, and hope. Can you feel how close God is to us in this moment? We are grateful for what has been, for the strengthening of this community, for the love shared, and all the joy we have experienced. We are hopeful for what is to come, as we continue on in the knowledge that God’s boundaries and love enfold us, prepare us, and lead us forward into the people God has created us to become. May the ancient stories from Genesis and Exodus be a reminder that we are a people on a journey, always moving forward, called by God to the next thing God wants to show us.
Like the Apostle Paul we can say, “Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 3:12-14)
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